Two men flying from Colorado to Illinois die in crash near Kirksville Regional Airport, Missouri

Crash victims identified

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADAIR COUNTY, Mo. - Two people flying from Colorado to Illinois died Tuesday night when their plane crashed on final approach at the Kirksville Regional airport in Missouri.

The FAA told KTVO-TV that the Piper PA-32 left Centennial Airport on Tuesday.

A flight tracking website shows the plane was heading for Illinois when it was diverted to Missouri.

Adair County Coroner Brian Noe identified the victims Wednesday as 64-year-old Robert Groh and 66-year-old James Quinn, both of Wisconsin. The coroner did not know which one was the pilot.

Quinn was a flight instructor at Wisconsin Aviation. Groh was president and CEO of GEO-Synthetics of Waukesha, Wis., according to KTVO.

It crashed in a rural area about three miles southeast of Kirksville. Airport Director Glenn Balliew told KTVO-TV that the plane's wreckage was scattered along a 300-yard path through a pasture, a wooded area and a bean field.

The victims' bodies were found in a ditch near the cockpit.

The plane crashed in the rain, but investigators said they don't yet know if the weather played a role in the crash.

Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.